Dangerous
by thenameisship
Summary: He was too young when it happened. He couldn't even spell his own name much less control the ice that would come randomly from his hands. He grew up alone, and everyone blamed him; but that's when they arrived. Soon, Lee was pulled into a raging storm when he discovered that his powers might actually be used for good-to save someone. Ancient Korea AU
1. People Like Me

_**This is the story of redemption and the pain it might take to get it, because that's all he wanted. To be free.**_

**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own anything related to Rise of the Guardians as the movie franchise belongs to Dreamworks and the books belong to William Joyce._  
**Suggestions**:_ Look into some of the costuming and lifestyle of traditional Korea to give yourself more of a mental image. The best way to do this is_ _looking into some Korean dramas_ _or modern Korean music/culture. I suggest __Sungkyunkwan Scandal because it's really popular among fans of Kdrama.  
_**Genre:** Historical AU/Fantasy/Romance/Adventure

**Happy reading!**

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_**하나  
People Like Me**_

Chapter One

It was a clear night. The moon was shining, casting its pale white light all over the village. The owls were hooting. The children were sleeping in their beds, and the dogs were barking at their shadows. It was beautiful; it'd be the _perfect _night to, I don't know, _not be thrown in jail. _Somewhere in the quiet night there was a fragile and innocent brunette boy being thrown into jail cell against his will.

There was a loud thud as my back hit the stone wall, and the first thing that came to my mind was

_Again?_

But I had to bite my tongue unless I wanted to lose it.

Jackson Lee, that's me.

Imprisoned again.

For what?

For freezing my watch official. If you ask me, he needed to cool down.

I mean, it was an accident, but no one was going to listen to me. I was just a monster to them. A monster with freak ice powers, but don't feel bad for me. I've learned to live with the judgmental looks, and I can't complain about the elbow room I get in public.

Another thud and any source of light in the jail cell went with the guard who threw me in as he slammed the door.

"Look at me, punk," he said so politely. I glanced up at him through my hair but refused to look at him directly, mostly because he was spraying not saying. I guess it was enough for him because he continued. "You're finally gonna get what's coming to you, kid. For seventeen years, you've been allowed to roam loose around here, making a mess of everything. You just wait until tomorrow. Then, we'll all be free of you."

With that, he turned to his fellow guard partner, and they left from the front of the door.

"Lee won't be so lucky this time," I heard the other one say. I pressed my ear to the door. "Third strike is _tchkkkk_."

The main guard said something in reply, but they were leaving earshot, so I peeled my ear off of the door and leaned back against the same wall I was thrown against and thought how I could possibly get out of this one.

You see, here in DaeBak[1], they don't play around with law. The first time you're convicted of something, you have to have an official follow you everywhere. He's usually a big guy with broad shoulders, a broadsword, and B.O. I was convicted the first time a long time ago for something I don't even remember. The second time, you are sentenced to a "grounding": no food and no water for a week, and you're locked inside a room in the main building of the village. I also was convicted a second time for something I don't remember. And it was in that building that I froze my official and got convicted a third time, and if you're in trouble three times…

Well, let's just say you'll be missing the no food, no water punishment, and that's where I was headed. Headed to be beheaded. I laughed through my nose at my own joke.

See? I have sense of humor.

I'm not an animal. I am a human being.

Now, I know what you're thinking: why don't I just freeze the door and break out since freezing things is what got me here in the first place?

I would if I could, but it was an accident, remember? So, the only thing I could do was put my head on my knees and count all the stripes on my _hanbok_[2]with the moonlight coming from my right.

So, this was it. I was going to die so young and so handso-

_Wait, moonlight?_

I snapped my head back to the source, and sure enough, very high on the wall, was a slot of open wall just big enough for a big dog or small human to fit through.

_Do I dare?_

I looked back to the door to make sure no one was coming. It was clear.

_You bet every brown hair on my head I dare._

I stood up and went toward the wall. If I jumped high enough, I could catch the ledge and pull myself only thing was the only object in the room was me, and I wasn't very tall.

Just then something strange happened.

"_Psst!_" a voice whispered. "Hurry up!"

_What the heck?_

My first instinct was to look back to the door to see if the guards had come back, but there was no one. That meant it could only be coming from the window, but that was impossible since it was so high up. Was I hearing voices?

I wasn't sure, so I did the only rational thing when voices from the abyss are whispering to you.

"Me?"

I heard an exasperated sigh before,

"Yes, you! Come on! Are you leaving jail or _what_?"

Some incoherent mumbling followed afterwards, but no matter how much the voice urged, I still stood confused in my spot.

"You're talking to me?" I repeated.

"Ugh, that's it! Hit him, Sen[3]!"

_Hit me?_

"Woah, what—" but before I could finish protesting, something flew through the window and hit me on the head, and I was out.

-.'.-

"Jack," she called. Her voice soothing, her eyes bright and welcoming.

"I'm here," I heard myself say. "I'm right here."

At my response, she smiled, but I couldn't see her face. I could only see her eyes, her gorgeous pink eyes. They looked like they held everything to know, good and bad, and they were _so inviting._ For the first time in a long while, I was starting to feel at peace with everything like I was bathing in warmth.

But the good feelings started to fade as her eyes suddenly shifted to worry.

"Don't leave," she implored.

"No, don't worry." I said, but I wasn't even convincing myself. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here."

But other voices that weren't hers started slicing through the darkness, saying things like,

"How hard did you hit him?" and "Wait, he's coming to."

And she was gone.

At the sound of the voices, I opened my eyes to the two unflinching pairs of eyes of my kidnapper's staring back at me.

_Yep, there go the good feelings._

I felt my eyebrows come together as I looked around. I was in a room on the floor, wrapped in a blanket, meaning I was sleeping. There was a ceiling and walls with pretty nice wallpaper, if I may add, and a paper door that let in the sunlight, so it cast a bright streak of light across the room. It was nice-looking and—

_But, wait, can we get back to the two people staring at me?_

"Hello?" I peeped.

The taller male with neat black hair and tribal triangles decorating his _hanbok_ nudged the shorter blond kid with spiky hair next to him, and I noticed his cross necklace gleam in the sunlight. It looked like he had…a _rabbit tattoo_ on his wrist.

"Maybe keep it to a minimum next time, eh, Sen?" he teased. "The poor fellow can't even talk straight."

The kid shrugged sheepishly.

Okay, future reference, Lee, if, no, when you do get out of here, get the blond kid first.

I tried to sit up but faltered.

"No, lie down," the tall guy insisted. "I'm Ace[4], and that's Sen."

I opened my mouth.

"Yes, he's the one who hit you on the head."

I closed my mouth.

"But we're not here for introductions," Ace—what kind of name is Ace—gestured to the doorway. "Someone outside needs to see you."

_Yeah, I'm going to go with no._

I looked at my kidnappers like they were crazy…which they were and removed the blanket off of me in case I had to do any sudden movement.

"How about I don't go, and you guys let me go before I have to do something irrational?" I tried to sound threatening, but it came out like a squeal.

That Ace guy just laughed and looked at Stan or whatever his name was. They had some kind of eye conversation before they both looked back to me.

"I'm serious," I outstretched my hands. "You don't know what I'm capable of."

But the two didn't listen to me. Instead, they lifted up by my elbows and carried me out of the room.

"Hey!" I protested but to no avail.

They were supposed to be afraid of me! Haven't they heard about my background? How I single-handedly killed a girl and three men with just my freaky ice powers? Don't they hear about what's said about me or how people look at me?

I struggled to release myself, but that short blond Sam kid had superhuman strength. I looked at incredulously, but he just winked at me.

"Aw, quit squirming," Ace said to my left. "We're not scared of you."

They brought me into another room that was bigger but still had plenty of sunlight. In the middle were a table and four seat pillows…and a guy with really shaggy eyebrows[5] drinking tea?

The two guys plopped me down on a seat pillow opposite eyebrow guy before joining me on my flanks. I shot them dagger looks while I rubbed my elbows.

The man smiled widely when we walked in. Okay, when Bunny Wrist and Blondie walked in and when I was carried in against my will sounds more like it. He looked like a decent man even though he had me kidnapped, but then I noticed his hand.

_He was using fire from his own hand to light the candle next to him. _I looked back at Sen and Ace, but Sen didn't see me because he was too busy straightening his clothes _with air he made. From his hands._

Something was off in this room, and it wasn't the lavender air spray.

Eyebrow Guy took my distraction as a chance to lead me into stipulating conversation.

"We leave tomorrow," he stated simply.

"T-tomorrow?" I asked. "Leave?"

_We?_

"Yes," he said before he sipped his tea that he warmed himself. "My belly tells me we have been summoned. By Chia.[6]"

The name triggered a flashback to a crying little girl and a scream, but it was gone in a flash. I did hear that name before, and it was never used in a good way.

"The witch?"

Eyebrows nodded.

"If you want to live."

_This just keeps getting better._

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[1] This literally means 'Awesome!' in Korean. So, they live in a Korean town called 'Awesome!'. Yeah.

[2] Really pretty traditional Korean clothing. Go look it up!

[3] This is Sandy, but Koreans can't say 'ah' like apple, so they say 'eh'.

[4] Guess who? *whispers* It's Bunny ;]. Ace came from E. **Ast**er Bunnymund.

[5] Ol' North

[6] 'Chia' is the Romanization for '치아', which means 'tooth'.

But, hey, thanks for reading! Hopefully, it wasn't too, too terrible, right? It picks up. Promise. I will update this story every Tuesday and Thursday, so be on the lookout! I also have another story called 'Promise' I'm working on-also JackxTooth, but it's set during the Roman Empire.

Reviews are always welcome!


	2. Tea and Weapons with Eyebrows

**Disclaimer: **Once again, I do not own anything by Dreamworks Animations Studios or William Joyce.**  
****Replies: **Thank you for the follow, reader! I hope this chapter is enjoyable.**  
**

**Suggested BGM: [_In My Place-Coldplay_]**

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**_둘_**  
**_Tea and Weapons with Eyebrows_**

Chapter Two

When a built guy with fire controlling abilities tells you to do something or die, you better do it! Here's why: he has already granted you the choice of survival and _he has fire_. Hey, you don't even know his name or status, so if you get into trouble, good luck explaining to the officials. Especially if you're in a bad stance with them like me. So, I just sat quietly in my spot while I waited for him to finish his tea. I mean, I shot a few curious glances at Sen to see if he would warp the air around him into a weapon to end my life right there or maybe even just talk, but he just sat there waiting for Eyebrows to continue. Ace offered me tea. I rejected.

"Lee," Eyebrows began, "do you know the reason you are here?"

_ To not die?_

"No."

"I brought you here to tell you that we've been summoned, but do you know why we were summoned?"

_ So, we can not die?_

"No."

"It's because you have something in common with everyone in room," a wondrous glint flickered in his eye. "Can you guess it?"

I took a wild guess,

"We all have the ability to control an element?"

Eyebrows looked genuinely surprised,

"Yes! Good! You have powers. We have powers."

I looked down miserably at the hand in my lap and thought of all the trouble they caused me and everyone else. I'd say more trouble they could be worth. I looked back up at Eyebrows.

"Look…" I paused for him to fill in his name.

"North," he said brightly.

"Look, North, I appreciate you kidnapping me and bringing me here for whatever this is. It's really made me feel needed, but I'm not what you're thinking. My powers aren't good." I had to take break eye contact for fear of getting too emotional. "I'm just good for destruction."

This made Sen shake his head fervently.

"Sen is right," North continued. "You have gift."

"We need you," Bunny Wrist felt the need to add.

Everybody was saying encouraging words, but instead of feeling inspired, I got upset. I looked back up to North, determined.

"Well, then _tell me. Tell me why_ every time I step into the public eye, I see a mother shield her child or hear a child whisper something, frightened for its life." I looked to Ace. Ace returned the gesture. "Tell me why a nice elderly couple scowls as I walk past or _why, at times, I even freeze my own footsteps._" I averted my gaze back to my hands. I was whispering now. "Tell me why my family ran scared after I was born or how I'll never be able to sleep at night because of what I did to those poor people years ago. Tell me why."

A silence settled over the room.

_ Like I thought._

"I'll tell ya why. Sorry, North," Ace glanced back apologetically at the fire-user. North held up both hands, so Ace continued. "You're not the only one who's had issues with your power. Even North started out rusty, but that didn't stop us, did it? Something more important than your personal—_our _personal—problems is harboring on the horizon, and we can't let silly things like past regret get in the way."

I looked to Sen and North, but both were staring with anticipation at Ace. I looked back to find Ace's face had softened.

"We're special, all of us," he continued. "There is no one quite like us. Our powers are gifts. Now, you're given the chance to finally use them accordingly. Are you going to waste it?"

"I—"

"No, you aren't."

Bunny Tattoo was admittedly kind of right. Where would I even go? I'm wanted everywhere. I'd have to stay and hide out for a while.

_ "Jack" I heard her voice call. "Jack, do it."_

_ Must I?_ I answered.

_ "You have to. Jack. Jack."_

She called my name one more time before she became quiet.

A ghost of a smile tugged on the corners of my mouth, and some emotion flickered in my chest.

Was it hope? Was it heartburn? I don't know, but suddenly, things weren't so negative, and the sunshine was a little brighter.

Look at me, noticing things like the sun shining brighter. That stupid Bunny Tattoo guy.

Coming back to, I realized that they were waiting for my response. I thought about it for a couple of seconds. I weighed the idea of hiding out in the village against facing the witch. She lived deep in the outskirts of the village and had a horrible reputation back in town of preying on small children that wandered too far, and she could kill a man with just her stare.

_Why was I going again?_

"Fine," I said. This relaxed Ace at the same time Sen nodded and North gave a hearty 'Yeah!'. "But why am I doing this? What are we doing?"

"We have to go see Chia," North repeated, "or else we di—"

"Die," I finished for him. "Yeah, I get that. _But why?_"

"That is why we have to see her!" North suddenly started talking in a wave of fervor as he stood up. "Only she knows! And my belly tells me we must leave _now_. And the belly is never wrong."

Ace mouthed the last sentence which tipped me up that North says that phrase often.

North swooped his arms up in a hurrying motion.

"Get up; get up!" he said.

Sen, Ace, and I stood.

"Follow me," he said.

We followed him into a room in the back that was in no way part of the house for it was huge and looked like a giant armory. We continued to follow North through the aisles of the weapons. Some weapons on the left side were dangerously pointed and caught the sun so that they gleamed wickedly. Other weapons on the right were duller like blunt wooden swords. There was a whole section dedicated to armor and shields with things like crossbows and standard bow-and-quivers.

I let out a sound of awe.

_ I could really do some damage with these…_

But we strolled right past them until we stopped in front of a little corner in the back. It looked a little pathetic in contrast to the grander weapons of inherent destruction in the room as it only held four objects: a pair of chakrams[1], a boomerang, a staff, and a sword.

North immediately reached for the sword and tossed it my way. It almost fell out of my hands; I caught it so clumsily, but I could see the sheath on it was stunning.

I ran my fingers across the cloth. It was constructed out of leather, and it was pretty worn; but _man, _the design was so particular. It was almost as if the material was made from frost itself.

That's when it occurred to me.

The weapon was mine.

It belonged to me, in my hands. Someone designed the sword personally for me.

It was my sword.

_ Huh._

"Glad you like it," North said.

I looked up to see all three of my kidnappers smiling knowingly at me, and I realized I was also smiling. I coughed and let my sword swing to my side.

"Yeah. It—It's cool."

_ Really cool._

North lifted his eyebrows, and I noticed the others were already wielding their weapons. Ace had set the boomerang between his _gi_[2] so that it was halfway concealed by his shirt. Sen carried the staff on his back. It was fastened to him with bandages around his torso so that it would stay in place. I looked to North. Both of his chakrams were attached to his _gi _so that they were dangling ominously at his side. We looked pretty intimidating.

"Then, let's go."

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[1] Chakrams are circular blades, basically.

[2] _gi _is the belt on the clothes

It was short, but maybe sweet? Just bear with me. I haven't written in a while, but I'll make you all proud as the story progresses! I wiiiilllll.


	3. We'll Be Fighting 'Round the Mountain

**Replies: **Wow, two more followers? You guys are too much. Thank you, _AmaryllisWilliams_, _America1hero_, and _ieatlorriesforbreakfast_! I hope this chapter does not disappoint!  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Rise of the Guardians characters or stories, as they belong to Dreamworks Animation Studios and William Joyce. I am just a pitiful fan.  
**Author Suggested BGM: [****_Conspiracy-Paramore_]**

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**셋**  
_**We'll Be Fighting 'Round the Mountain**_

Chapter Three

Okay, when I said we looked pretty intimidating, I meant that Ace, Sen, and North looked intimidating. I probably just looked foolish.

_How do you hold this thing? _

I fumbled with the hilt on the blade, trying to set it straight, but it got caught onto my sleeve instead. I tried again and failed again. And tried. And failed. And tried again because _I was going to hold this sword whether it agreed with me or not._

And failed.

I didn't notice three pairs of eyes peering at me quizzically until I happened to feel a hand guide my wrist and the flailing sword so that it came to a rest behind my neck and sat on my shoulders. I looked up quickly in surprise and noticed Sen's grin.

"Ah…" I said sheepishly. I didn't realize they were _staring at me_. "…Thanks, Sen."

"Are you done now?" Ace said at the same time Sen flashed me a grin.

Stupid Ace.

"I have horses out back," North said. "We will ride them to Chia."

A horse? I thought. I've never ridden a horse before.

Before we walked outside, I glanced to Sen again while he wasn't looking. He looked no older than 14, but he was weird. Very weird.

The sun was the first thing to hit my face as we stepped outside. I hurried to shield my face so that I could follow the others. Once my face was shaded and my eyes adjusted, I could see how the back of North's house was just a big span of green with dots of trees that turned out to be needle fir as you got closer. The sun illuminated the grass so that it looked like it was shining, and the ground was somewhat rough when I stepped on it. That's when I could see how far away from the village we really were.

There were several horses beyond a wooden gate. They looked pretty agreeable from afar.

"Sun," North said next to me as we walked.

_Huh?_

Turning my head, I saw he was smiling.

"North, I understand that you don't have any children, but I'm not your—"

There was a loud chortle from North. Ace and Sen snapped their heads back to see what was going on, but once they realized it was nothing, they faced forward.

We were at the horses now.

"No," North said through his laughter, "not my son. _The sun._" He pointed at the sky.

_Oh._

I couldn't follow his hand because of the harshness of the sun. It was like it sat right there on the top of the mountain.

"Yeah, it's bright, isn't it?" I went along with it, thinking he was trying to make small talk.

Sen opened the gate to the pasture, and we followed him in. The horses noticed us and started getting wary.

"Yes, it is," North agreed. He put his hand on one of the horse's face to calm it down. "It's source of powers for me."

I froze in my spot.

_What?_

"'Ay, you, move faster," Ace said as he nudged me inside the gate. I turned to glare at him, but he missed it because he was too busy fastening the lock on the gate. Well, it wasn't my fault that he chose to fall behind so that he could lock the gate. Sen was already getting on his horse, and in one swift movement, Ace was on his, and North had gotten on when I was distracted with thoughts of murdering Ace. So, I was the only one still standing there, dumfounded.

"The sun," North continued, "is fire. When the sun touches area—" he swept his hand across the green"—it ignites energy. This is why I live on mountain. It's closer to sun and has more heat."

"And less air," Ace added from the top of his horse. "I'm suffocating."

North laughed at Ace before he patted one of the horses next to him.

"Come, Lee," he said. "Sit."

My horse heard North, and then proceeded to give me a "I'm-not-letting-you-ride-me" look. I took my hand away from my face and tried to grab the horse and hoist myself up like I saw the others do.

At first, the horse starting rearing its head, but then North touched it again; and it calmed down.

I swung my other leg around and sat squarely on the horse's saddle and placed my sword on my lap so that it wouldn't fall off.

As soon as I was situated, I gave a nod to North, and he led us away.

It was unusual trying to get used to the horse, but I eventually got the hang of it; and soon we were in the forest. I noticed that the further away we got from North's house, the darker it got.

"So, what does Rabbit Wrist do? I mean, Sen controls the air, and you practically command the sun. What is he good for? Besides shoving people?"

Nobody got the chance to answer because immediately after the question left my mouth, one of the leaves came down on a nearby tree and grazed my face, almost slicing through the skin. I yelped in surprise.

"That," Ace said without even so much glancing in my direction.

I could hear Sen chuckle.

"Look here, Ace, you little—"

Suddenly, the horses stopped to a halt and began pawing the ground nervously. The birds got quiet, and the leaves stopped rustling. Even the wind quieted down.

"Huh?" I said aloud. I looked at the others. Sen and Ace were both looking at North, who sat on stiffly on his horse, one arm already brandishing a chakram. I could've sworn I saw it flash in the sunlight.

We watched as North slid his eyes to the right before he slid them to the left. Besides our breathing, it was silent.

Now, I would love to say that nothing happened and we continued to the witch's house peacefully, but somebody had other plans.

A strangled cry escaped my throat as I was suddenly yanked by my ankle off of my horse. My back hit the ground with a hard thud as it proceeded to drag me to the shade of the trees.

"Shadows," North spat.

Like a switch had been turned on, North, Ace, and Sen all had their weapons in hand, but they didn't seem like they were in a hurry. North calmly muttered something to Sen while Ace slowly got off of his horse.

_Hello?_

"Still down here!"

I tried resisting, but whatever had its hold on me was not giving.

"_Hello!"_

Two flaming chakrams barely missed my ankle and caught the thing in the head. It dissipated and no longer had a grip on me, but I still stood unmoving in my spot afterwards.

_Okay, _one, _what the heck was that? And _two,

"You could have cut off my foot!" I shouted back at North.

"Could have," I heard him say casually. I whipped my head around to see if North could possibly be joking in any way, but he was preoccupied with nodding smugly at Ace.

_I'm with a bunch of lunatics._

Without warning, a whole gaggle of the thing that attacked me emerged into the clearing. They all slithered over to Sen, Ace, and North, hissing.

And nobody seemed to be the least bit phased but me.

"Oh, good," Ace said. He brandished his boomerang. "More. Watch and learn, North."

He threw his boomerang, successfully taking out several of them.

"That is good, Ace," North started before he sliced the air with his chakrams, killing many more than Ace did. "But is not great."

Notice that I was still on the floor, and some of the shadows started noticing that I was alone and weaponless. Frantically, I scanned the ground for my sword. It was on the floor where my horse still was. I dove for it just in time for a shadow to go soaring over my head.

"Sorry!" I heard an unfamiliar voice call.

_What the-? _

I looked up to see that it was Sen who spoke, and he was pinning the shadow to a tree with the air from his staff. Surprised, I could only manage to nod him a "thanks."

While the others fought, I tried to get the hang of my sword, but it was still unfamiliar in my hands. So, when I raised it above my head, instead of swiping the weapon cleanly down like I wanted, I toppled over and greeted the ground with my back again.

Somehow, the others were having no issues: North was taking them out one after another while Sen was a blur of blond hair and air, and Ace was so skillful it looked like he was dancing.

And there I still was on the floor.

There was hot breath on my face, so I looked up and came face-to-face with a shadow.

I felt my eyes widen. I didn't know what to do. I tried fumbling for my sword, but I couldn't break eye contact with the thing; so, I couldn't get it. I was going to call to the others, but the words weren't coming.

It looked like it was laughing at how helpless I was. As much as a soulless thing could laugh.

The fun was only beginning for it because it then went on to snap at my face. I barely rolled out of the way, and it gathered a mouthful of dirt. Confused, it sat there for a few seconds before it shook the dirt out of its mouth and snapped at me again. Once more, I rolled out of the way. This time I rolled over my sword; I could feel the leather against my back. The shadow started getting angry and started thrashing about, raking its claws in the air, but I thought fast enough to twist and grab my sword from beneath.

_Please, just this one time_, I pleaded to my hands, _just this one time _agree with me.

And for once in my life, my dingdanged hands were in sync with my head and ice shot down my sword and into the open jaws of the shadow. It fell in ice shards to the floor, and I breathed.

_Woah._

But before I could enjoy my victory, something got me hard in the back and pushed me over so that I was flat on my face.

"Last one!" I heard North call.

"We let you live this long, Lee," whatever knocked me on my back whispered into my ear. "Remember that."

_What?_

But before I could react, the weight was gone, and there was yet another flaming chakram by my face.

"Ha!" North cried.

Face down, I heard three pairs of footsteps approach me. I brought my face off of the ground to see the sandaled feet of my comrades.

"Fun, huh?" Ace piped.

I let my face fall back to the ground.

Soon, we got back on our horses and began riding to the witch's shack or tent…whatever she lived in. I was still shaken up by the attack, but everyone else seemed to be doing just fine. I just ended up masking it and hoped it the feelings would subside. They didn't.

Eventually, we came to a stop in front of a tower.

"Here she is," North announced.

I slowly stretched my neck to take everything in. Where were the spikes? Where was the boiling swamp? The bats? The gloom and doom? There was none of that. It was all just plush land and clear water.

"Here?" I echoed. The others were getting off of their horses as I spoke. "This… This isn't a shack."

_It's much more beautiful._

"Chia!" North called. "Chia, we are here!"

A girl poked her head out of one of the windows in response. She couldn't have been any older than 10.

"_That's_ the witch?" I asked. I wondered if my voice sounded as confused as I felt.

"No, no, silly," North said. "This is Chia-mini. Her closest helper."

"Who is it?" The girl yelled down.

"The daggone Easter Bunny[1]," I heard Ace mutter under his breath, "what do you think?"

North ignored him.

"It's North! I brought Lee…"

But I couldn't hear the rest of what North said because in a snap, a searing pain shot up my head.

"Ah!" I cried.

_Where did this come from?_

My hands flew up to grab my head. I could vaguely hear the calling of the others, but I couldn't respond. Between my slit eyelids, I witnessed the world become a muddled mess. The horse could no longer support me, so I fell off; but I was out before I hit the ground.

_Jack?_

_._

_._

_._

_Jack!_

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[1] Ahhh, movie reference ;p

As promised I uploaded on Tuesday! It's actually a little into Wednesday here, but it still counts, right? Thank you for reading!


	4. I've Caught Your Pink Eye

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to ROTG. Otherwise, I would not be on this website. I would be rolling in my money and laughing at responsibilities.**  
Replies: **hanazaki426anime, thank you for commenting and following! You are my sunshine 3. The rest of you as well!  
**Author Suggested BGM: [_Saltwater Room-Owl City_]**

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**_I've Caught Your Pink Eye_**

Chapter Four

There was plenty of darkness, and it was quiet—two things that I wasn't used to. Usually when I slept, she was there. At least her eyes were. They were always so pink and always so bright. I never had just sheer darkness, but here I was.

I wondered to myself if I did anything wrong, if I scared her away, but I couldn't think of anything that I did recently to make her upset. As a matter-of-fact, no matter what I did, she never got upset at me, and we all know that I had quite the impressive track record.

I was starting to feel anxious.

What if she was going to leave me forever?

What if I never hear from her again?

Then I'd really be alone.

Alone and forgotten.

I felt a shake to my leg and realized that I was coming to. The darkness collapsed, and my eyelids flew open. Instantly, I was greeted with completely foreign surroundings and blatant confusion.

I knit my eyebrows together and looked around. The act was familiar and reminded me of when I woke up in North's place, but I wasn't in North's place this time. I was in a tree that looked like it'd been hollowed out and turned into a living quarters. It held furniture like wooden tables and seating pillows. There were also a lot of windows, like the owner of the tree house hand-carved holes into the bark itself.

I had no idea where I was, but then I spied the tiny girl from before. At once, everything came rushing back to me.

She peered at me curiously from her spot next to me. I stared back quietly, and we sat there not breaking eye contact for what felt like hours but could only be a few minutes.

"…Yes?" I had to speak after a while.

Her eyes just opened wider when I spoke as if she didn't realize I was capable of speaking.

"A-ah," she said, backing up. "Nothing! I mean, d-don't worry about; i-i-it's nothing. I'm going to go get the others."

She made shuffling sounds as she scurried down the set a stairs faster than I could blink. I heaved a sigh.

_This has got to be the weirdest 48 hours of my _entire _existence. Note to self, Jackson: take the death sentence next time._

But there was nothing I could do, so I waited patiently enough for the little girl North had named before to retrieve my comrades. It was then I noticed the drawings and scribbles on parchment that had been hung on the walls. The work was too far away for me to see, but it was like it was calling to me. So, I got up and ventured to the walls to get a closer look. Most of the drawings were sketches of cities or what looked to be the forest surrounding the tree house, everyday things, but there was this one sketch that looked really familiar.

I felt my face mold into a surprised gasp as I leaned in further. I was practically nose-to-nose with the painting before I noticed it was of me.

I jumped back right away and had to try to control my breathing unless I wanted to pass out again.

_Me? No, it couldn't be._

But a second look dissolved my denial. It was me. My face and my body were on that parchment. Hanging. In this house. _That I had never been in._

But wait…?

The me on the paper was different. This person had white hair and blue eyes and seemed almost otherworldly. He had a stick that sort of curved at the top, and he looked to be staring directly at me with too much confidence for his own good.

I stopped.

_Was I really fangirling over myself? I mean, I _am _quite the looker, but-_

The return of my headache cut me short, and I was on the floor, clutching my head before I could register what was going on.

The sound of footsteps by the staircase forced me to redirect my gaze to the source. There stood the girl from before, Ace, North, and Sen. A look of worry simultaneously struck all of their faces as I hit the floor, and North made to step forward. A hand lightly touched his shoulder to stop him, so he reluctantly stood still, all the while keeping his eyes on me. The way they were all staring at me I felt like I circus act.

Then, _she_ stepped out with her eyes crinkling in an innocent smile, and the ringing in my head went top volume. My unoccupied hand flew to my head, and I struggled to not cry out.

But I couldn't believe what my eyes were presenting to me. There, in that tree house, while I was experiencing severe head pains, stood the very same pair of ethereal magenta eyes I always saw in my head. In my sleeping hours. In my waking hours. The voice that always beckoned to me to do things that I did without question.

It was her.

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A/n: No footnotes this time, but, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I was supposed to have uploaded this yesterday, I know! Trust me, I tried :/ I felt so bad for not being able to uphold my bargain with you all! The chapter is so short, too. I hope you all enjoyed nonetheless :x Maybe the shortness of the chapter gave you guys a break? But you guys should be prepared for the next chapter. It's called 'The Girl of My Dreams is the Witch?' xD. Get it? :3

Thank you for reading and sticking with me~ All my love is send to you /shoom


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